Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Front wing spec raced by each driver at each race

Race	Glock Spec	d’ Ambrosio Spec	Analysis (click on link)
Launch	1st	1st	Link1
Australia	2nd	2nd	Link2
Malaysia	2nd	2nd
China	2nd	2nd
Turkey	3rd	3rd	Link3
Spain	3rd	3rd
Monaco	3rd	3rd
Canada	3rd	3rd
Europe	3rd	3rd
G.Britain	3rd	3rd
Germany	3rd	3rd
Hungary	3rd	3rd
Belgium	3rd	3rd
Italy	4th	3rd	Link4
Singapore	3rd	3rd
Japan	3rd	3rd
Korea	3rd	3rd
India	3rd	3rd
Abu Dhabi	3rd	3rd
Brazil	3rd	3rd

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PS= gurney tabs additions in some races and higher attack angle weren’t taken into consideration

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – front wing without upper decks for Glock at Italy

   Timo Glock chose to race at Monza  a modified front wing which lacked the upper decks and provided less drag to boost top speed . On the contrary less experienced d’ Ambrosio raced the custom spec which gave him more confidence to challenge Parabolica . Glock also raced in Monza a rear wing without gurney tab for the same reason ( link ) but the top speed difference between the two Virgin racers was practically less than a half second favoring Glock . A larger gap would be expected though judging only by the different set ups , regarding downforce level ,  between Glock and d’Ambrosio cars . A possible explanation can be looked at engine usage (all drivers should use 8 engines in total for season ,otherwise a penalty is given) . Glock had No1 engine for a 4^th race but d’Ambrosio No1 engine for a 3^rd race .That would possibly justify a power loss due to fatigue for Glock’s engine treated with a lower downforce set up  , but that’s just no more than a speculation without solid facts .

 

 

 

 

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Rear wing spec raced by each driver at each race

SPEC	DEBUT	Analysis (click on link)
1st	Launch	Link1
2nd	Australia	Link2
3rd	Belgium	Link3
4th	Italy	Link4
5th	Italy	Link5

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	Australia	Malaysia	China	Turkey	Spain	Monaco
Rear Wing Glock	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
Rear Wing d’Ambrosio	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd

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	Canada	Europe	G.Britain	Germany	Hungary	Belgium
Rear Wing Glock	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd
Rear Wing d’Ambrosio	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd

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	Italy	Singapore	Japan	Korea	India	Abu Dhabi	Brazil
Rear Wing Glock	4th	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
Rear Wing d’Ambrosio	5th	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd

Special rear wings for Virgin drivers at Italy

           Monza is a special very low downforce track , also known as ‘Temple of Speed’ .Top speed is vital at long stretches and traditionally all teams bring in Monza special aerodynamic packages to minimize drag  . The MVR02 Monza rear wing spec had gill-less endplates and reduced airfoil chord . Noticeably  d’ Ambrosio raced a wing spec with a gurney tab ( in black) to give him more grip and confidence in Parabolica while Glock had a tab-less version.

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Small modification to the rear wing at Spa

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  Virgin raced a tab-less rear wing at Spa hoping for greater top speed . Tab (Gurney tab, in black in pre Belgium spec) is a small flap tab projecting from the trailing edge of the upper airfoil . It is used to increase downforce production . Downforce level at Spa isn’t so high and thus teams often launch modifications to their rear wings .

Marussia Virgin MVR02-Rear wing revisions before Melbourne

    Virgin introduced design philoshophy revisions to the rear wing  before Melbourne . The revised wing had a clear construction regarding flap separators differing from the old one featuring a mixed concept . In particular the old spec had two separators at the second flap and three on the main flap (one at the middle and two close to the endplates) . Probably the change had to do with the efficiency of the flap moving mechanism  . Finally to boost downforce  the size of the tab fence across the second flap rear lip has been increased .

Marussia Virgin MVR02-New mirror mountings since Turkey

  The MV02 since Turkey races with a new completely vertical and simpler mirror mountings, leaving behind the more sophisticated Viking horn design. A change likely to be linked with the new higher nose cone raced a race after in Spain, offering less blockage caused by the mirror body to the flow over the sidepods and towards the rear, without of course having a negative impact on rearview visibility .

Marussia Virgin MVR02-More front wing updates at Turkey and a higher nose since Spain

 

      Virgin struggles to surpass HRT  ,its main target for the season, thus follows an aggressive development for a small team . Another pressure on the team is to watch Team Lotus stepping fast and gradually away from the grid bottom . For sure the on going reconstruction of team’s technical staff  will need time to show clear progress on track but every new part is more than welcome now like the revised front wing first raced inTurkey  .

     The endplates of the revised wing are new, having now a bending outwards  bottom instead of having a bending inwards upper part . That is to increase a bit the quantity of air flowing inside the endplate surface close to the main plane increasing downforce . The slotted endplate philosophy remains though unchanged to bleed air through decreasing drag . Another change is the rejection of the small air stabilizer (left arrow) , a stabilizer analogous to Red Bull RB7. Finally the nose camera winglets are again relocated back inside the wing pillars , a step backwards and probably triggered by the arrival of the new higher nose at Spain.

      Speaking for the new nose ,  it stands much taller having a thinner tip and it does  provide a richer flow of air under the car and towards the diffuser aiming downforce increase  . It is good to underline that usually nose changes are followed by diffuser and floor related changes ( bargeboards , vanes etc ) .

 

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Revised front wing in Melbourne

 VR02 had a revised front wing in Melbourne having the endplate’s outer winglet rejected (in yellow box) . That bending downwards winglet increased the ability of the endplate to divert air away from the tyre profile despite the fact that due to its negative attack angle created some lift . Probably real track  feedback differed significantly from theoretical CFD (computational fluid dynamics) data suggesting the rejection of the winglet .

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Searching for camera winglets optimum position

In Melbourne Virgin shifted up the position of the camera winglets from inside the front wing’s pillar to nose box sides . The low placement inside the pillars trend started last season by Red Bull in Silverstone and offered a small increase in downforce production, but in Virgin case such profit was not the expected on track.

Marussia Virgin MVR02 – Technical specs

Chassis

Construction
Virgin Racing carbon fibre construction monocoque and nosebox

 

Suspension

Wishbones
Virgin Racing carbon fibre construction with titanium flexure joints

Uprights
Virgin Racing aluminium ally construction

Dampers
Penske

 

Wheels and Tyres

Wheels
BBS

Tyres
Pirelli

 

Fuel System

Fuel cell
‘FT5’ safety specification

Fuel capacity
In excess of 220 litres

 

Brakes

Calipers
AP Racing 4 potcalipers

Discs/pads
Hitco Carbon-Carbon

 

Steering

Steering wheel
Virgin Racing carbon fibre construction

Power steering
Virgin Racing hydraulic steering assist

Driver seat
Anatomically formed carbon composite

Seat belts
Six point harness (75mm shoulder straps with HANS system)

Electronics

ECU and logging system
FIA standard ECU & FIA homologated electronic and electrical system

 

Transmission

Gearbox
Virgin Racing precision aluminium construction with 7-speed, longitudinally Mounted internals

Differential
Electronically controlled hydraulic differencial

Gear selection
Paddle operated hydraulic shift system with “seamless shift”

Clutch
AP Racing

Driveshafts
One-piece driveshafts with integral tripod joints

 

Dimensions

Overall Length
Approx 5200 mm

Overall Height
Approx 950 mm

Overall Width
Approx 1800 mm

Wheelbase
Approx 3300 mm

 

Engine

Designation
Cosworth CA2011

Duty Cycle Type
4 stroke reciprocating piston, normally aspirated

Configuration
8 cylinders in banked V configuration with an angle of 90 degrees

Construction
Cast aluminium alloy cylinder block and head, forged aluminium pistons, steel crankshaft

Capacity
2,400cc

Valves
32 with pneumatic valve springs

Maximum speed
Limited to 18,000rpm

Timing
Double overhead cams driven via compliant gear from crankshaft

Mass
In excess of 95kg

Cylinder Bore
Less than 98mm

Fuelling
8 injectors supplied by a pressurized system at 100bar

Ignition
8 ignition coils each driving single spark plug

Lubrication
Dry sump

Spark Plugs
Champion

 

 

credit:  Marussia Virgin Racing